Keep on Fighting
by StarPurpleandBlue
Summary: Ace has always loved freedom ever since he was a child, but to prevent something from happening he accepted a deal and gave it up temporarily. He should have known it wouldn't be easy to get it back. Now he lives as he's told and has a work that isn't moral. However, when he has the chance to get what he wants, will he risk everything to get it for him and his brothers? AU
1. Prologue

_**A/N**_: Hello there to everyone who's reading this! So, this idea suddenly came to me while I was listening to a song late at night and since then I had the urge to write it. I have most of this story basically planned out, I only need to think more about some parts and to figure out how the ending is going to be exactly... Anyway, I might take a while before I post the second chapter because I'd like to have such things figured out by then (or not, if I get too enthusiastic).

Well, anyway, this is an AU, so some of the characters who'll appear here may be a bit different from their usual self because of circumstances. I don't think it'll be difficult for anyone to figure out many things, but I'll do my best to try to create a bit of a mystery with some things ;)

I guess that's it. The song which seriously inspired me is called "Paradise (What about us)" by Within Temptation feat. Tarja. If anyone's curious go and listen the song, I like it a lot ^.^ This chapter is basically the prologue, so the next one will probably be bigger.

Well then, go read and please review letting me know what you thought!

This chapter has now been betaread by _AllHeroesWearHats_ and _lunarshores _:D

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><p>He was bored. Incredibly bored.<p>

With a sigh, Ace sat on the couch that had a large window behind it in the living room. Since the apartment was located on the top floor of one of the tallest buildings there, he now had a view of most of the city. Using the back of his hand, he pushed the window until it was open as wide as it would go, immediately feeling the cold winter breeze hit his face. He leaned his elbow on the sill and put his face on his hand, his expression reflecting his extreme boredom.

"Whenever you're ready, Sabo..." he said in an impatient tone.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming. Just give me a minute." Though Sabo's reply was muffled by the walls between them, they didn't have to shout in order to be heard. Since the apartment was on such a high floor, the nocturnal noises of a big city could barely be heard, even with the window open. Ace rolled his eyes and went back to idly watching cars passing by in the streets below while waiting for Sabo to finish up. Normally it wouldn't take so long, which made him suspect that this was a more complicated job than he'd been told.

He straightened his position on the couch and closed his eyes, enjoying the breeze on his face. For a few seconds, all that his ears picked up was the sound of the wind hissing through the cracked window. Ace let the crisp breeze wash over him, ruffling his hair. In that brief moment, he allowed himself to imagine that he was far away from here and free.

A small smile appeared on his face.

Thinking about that always brought him peace and calmness, so he often allowed his mind to drift to control his temper and impatience. The only other way to calm him down was the presence of Sabo and Luffy; since neither were there with him at the moment, he had to resort to the wind and the images it carried to his mind.

Ace's smile grew a little more at the thought of Luffy; at this time the fourteen-year-old would already be complaining he was starving as he impatiently waited for them to return home in order to eat dinner. It was a good thing that they had a stock of snacks that Luffy could eat - it wasn't like Luffy could spoil his dinner, since he was always hungry. If not, they'd probably arrive home to a horrendous mess in the kitchen in case Luffy tried to cook something. The ingredients for meals were kept under lock and key to ensure they'd all be able to eat dinner, but at least they wouldn't have to worry about him starving in their frequent absences.

Ace's eyes snapped open when he felt another person entering the room. His gaze immediately met Sabo's and, when he nodded, Ace smirked.

"Finally! Took you long enough!" He said in a light tone as he got up and went to the other.

Sabo rolled his eyes. "The request was very specific about the message that we were supposed to leave. You'd know that if you took the time to read it carefully," he remarked while he finished cleaning the object in his hand with a cloth. Raising it a bit and seeing it shine with the moonlight that was coming through the window, he nodded satisfied and put it in its sheath. It was quickly concealed by his long, dark blue coat, before he folded the cloth and stuffed it into one of his pockets.

Ace only shrugged at the mention of his inattention to the details of their mission "But don't we usually have to leave a letter?" Examining Sabo carefully, he raised his thumb in a positive sign, indicating that he had found no stains anywhere. "Nothing today."

"Nor on you." Sabo commented after looking over Ace. He smiled wryly. "We'll probably get some kind of recognition from the boss because we have such high success rates." He shook his head slightly. "And the request said that the client wanted the message to stay with the recipient _'forever and ever'_."

Ace just snorted, but not because of what Sabo said their client asked them to do, as such different requests were normal; no, it was because of the idea of being congratulated for what they did. "As if I care about what he'll decide to do. Who knows, maybe he'll do a happy dance because he's finally getting what he wanted."

A moment passed as both of them imagined that. Sabo shook his head in exasperation, a small smile on his face being the only indication that he was holding in his laughter at the thought. Ace, however, had no such qualms and busted into laughter.

"Oh, just picture that!" He gasped while laughing. "Completely bizarre."

"Come on," Sabo put a hand on Ace's shoulder, interrupting the other's laughter. "Didn't you want to leave as quickly as possible? I think it's a good idea to get home before Luffy finds a way to eat everything we have."

"I refuse to have to order pizza again and have to wait a millennium for it to get there!" Ace exclaimed horrified as he headed towards the door. He might love his younger brother a lot, but if he went home today and wasn't able to eat something as soon as he got there, the younger one would feel the wrath of his older brother.

"The pizza didn't take that long," Sabo remarked even though he knew it made no difference to Ace. He turned and took one last look at the living room before narrowing his eyes when he saw the window Ace had left open; it wasn't like that when they arrived, was it?

"Ace, are you leaving it like that?" He asked motioning with his head the window; it wasn't like he was doubting his companion, who he knew wouldn't make a stupid mistake, but he was curious.

The gray-eyed boy stopped and looked back with that same bored expression on his face. Tilting his head slightly, he let a smirk appear on his face; although he and Sabo tried to act as normal as possible, their work was already ingrained in them. So, in the end, getting something good from it wouldn't hurt, right?

"Yeah. I want to see their reaction when seemingly the only place where we could have appeared from and gotten out was the window."

The blond mirrored his smirk. Yes, after so many years there was no way for them not to find pleasure in making others waste their time trying to figure out how they did things.

"Very well then."

The two left the apartment, and Ace saw Sabo lock the door carefully and in the quietest way possible. The blond took his gloves off and threw them at Ace, who caught them easily and tucked them into one the pockets of his jacket. He saw Sabo look for something in one of the pockets of his own coat before taking out a piece of crumpled paper and a pen. He unfolded the it and, after uncapping the pen, put an 'x' next to the order number.

"There. Now we just need to report in, and we can go home," Sabo informed him before putting the objects safely away. They went to the stairs and began the long descent, not worrying about being seen by security cameras on the way. They would show no image of them to any of the investigators no matter how hard they looked. After easily evading the notice of the security guards and the porter, they left through the back of the building and disappeared into the crowd of people walking on the streets that night.

The jaded expression on Ace's and Sabo's faces didn't fade until they finally arrived at home and found Luffy ready to break into the locked fridge. Only then, when they saw the bright smile of their younger brother and his excitement at seeing them coming home, could they relax a bit.

Well, at least until the next time _that phone_ rang and the whole process began again.


	2. A bad foreboding

_**A/N: **_Hi everybody! I'm back with the next chapter! So, I wanted to thank a lot everyone who reviewed, added this story to their favorites and/or alerts! You're all awesome! ;D

So, I wasn't supposed to be uploading this chapter yet :P I still have some things to figure out, though I wanted to put this up soon, so here I am! Initially, this chapter was going to be bigger because I wanted to add more things, but then I saw that it already had a good length and enough information and decided to split it in two. Now, the chapter may seem a bit slow but I needed to show these things to you guys, so have patience and in the next one you'll see more ;P I sincerely have no idea when I'm going to finish it, but I'll try to work as fast as possible.

Well, I guess that's it! Don't forget to review telling me what you thought about it! Whether it's a compliment, a constructive critic or a doubt I'll be happy to receive and answer it ^.^

Hope you enjoy!

This chapter has now been betaread by _AllHeroesWearHats_ and _lunarshores_ ^.^

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><p><em>He sighed wearily as he took his hand from Luffy's forehead.<em>

_"Your fever is still high..."_

_He watched as Luffy __tried to suppress a shudder._

_"But I'm not feeling bad!"_

Liar. _He kept the word from escaping his lips, knowing it was an attempt to make him feel better._ _He could clearly see t__he exhaustion radiating off the small boy, who looked like he could barely keep his eyes open, despite his protests__._

_"Of course you're not." __He pressed his lips together, considering__.__ "I'll be right back. Can you stay awake till then?"_

_Brown eyes widened in surprise before a small hand moved so it could hold firmly the wrist of the older one__, in spite of his obvious weakness__.__  
><em>

_"What?! Why?! Where are you going?!"_

_"I need to get an extra blanket for you. I'll be quick."_

_"I don't need another one! Seriously! Just stay here..."_

_Another sigh passed through his lips before he decided to lie on the blankets next to the younger one, who qu__ickly __snuggled close to share his warmth__.__ After a brief hesitation, he put an arm around Luffy. __He was rewarded by a small satisfied smile before sleep overcame Luffy and he dropped off__._

_He watched Luffy with anxious eyes for a while.__ As close as he was__, he could clearly feel the heat pouring off Luffy's skin._

_Another tired sigh passed his lips__._

_"What do I do with you, Lu?"_

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><p>Ace's eyes snapped open at the barely perceptible noise coming from the hallway. The young man stared at the white ceiling of his bedroom for a few more seconds before he closed his eyes in exasperation. <em>He never learns.<em> Ace thought bemusedly before quickly getting up and standing beside his bed with his arms crossed. As he moved, the quiet noises from the hallway approached his bedroom. He only had to wait two more seconds before it was thrown open.

"ACEE!"

The source of the ruckus was, of course, Luffy, who was too intent on waking him up by pouncing on his bed to notice that he was no longer in it.

"Aha! I got..." Luffy stopped as he looked down and saw no sign of Ace. "...you?"

In a quick move, Ace tackled Luffy onto the bed before he could understand what was happening and started tickling him. Luffy laughed loudly and squirmed trying to get away from his brother.

"Nice try, but no." Ace commented before he stopped, messed Luffy's hair up and got up. "Next time, try not to make noise."

"But I didn't!" Luffy replied indignantly before sitting on the bed. "Well, not before getting here."

"Really? Well, you still have to improve if you want to catch me by surprise." Ace stretched before rubbing his eyes. "I don't know why whenever Sabo asks you to wake me up you do this."

"I still need to get back at you for the time you woke me up by tickling me," Luffy huffed.

"Oh, right." Ace said absently while searching for clothes in the closet. "That was fun."

"Only for you!" Luffy remarked before one of his grins appeared on his face. "Now that you're awake, you have to hurry up and get ready so we can eat breakfast! Oh, and then go to the terrace too."

Ace just rolled his eyes and smiled. No matter how excited Luffy was for their morning routine on weekends, food always came first.

"Alright, alright. Now let me change my clothes, and I'll see you in the kitchen." He said to his younger brother who quickly left the room. His cries to Sabo that he'd woken Ace up could be heard even through the door he'd slammed shut on his way out.

As soon as he found himself alone, the smile on his face disappeared, giving way to a small frown. He stripped and, ignoring the cold air hitting his skin, slowly put on his clothes, lost in his thoughts. _Why did I dream about that old memory now? It's been a long time since I last dreamed of back then..__._

Shaking his head, he decided to leave pondering dreams for another time. Though he only dreamed of such things before big changes – unfortunately, they used to be only bad ones related to his work -, thinking about it now would get him nowhere. Ace would find out when it happened and not a bit sooner, so agonizing over it would just ruin his weekend with his brothers. Still, he'd be more alert when he was out.

After a quick visit to the bathroom that was connected to his room, he went to his bedside table and grabbed one of the two phones charging on it. He glared down at the white one, then tucked it into his pocket. He couldn't forget to bring that cell phone, even if these were technically his days off. Lastly, he checked that his two knives were secure and well hidden underneath his clothing. Ace had no reason to think he'd need them, but old habits die hard, and he was on edge after the dream last night.

Arriving in the kitchen, he saw Sabo setting the table, and Luffy sitting and staring intently at the food tantalizingly within reach.

Smiling at the scene and taking his seat, Ace said, "You better close your mouth, Luffy. You're drooling."

Luffy started in his seat before he absentmindedly passed the back of his hand over his mouth; apparently, he had been too focused on staring at his food to notice Ace's arrival.

"I wasn't drooling, Ace!" He exclaimed when he saw no signs of saliva on his hand.

Ace just laughed in response.

Orange juice was put on the table before Sabo joined them with a smile.

"Now that Sleeping Beauty has appeared we can eat." Sabo grinned at Ace, obviously trying to provoke him.

Not disappointing, Ace opened his mouth to retort when both realized that Luffy was already attacking the food and that if they didn't start eating soon there'd be no breakfast left for them. Without another word, both brothers joined the youngest one and the rest of the meal went calmly - or at least what passed for calm in their household.

Not long after, they found themselves leaving the apartment and going up the stairs of the building until they reached the top floor. There they climbed yet another flight of stair to reach the terrace.

Luffy immediately ran to the edge, leaned on the railing and looked at the view of the city with a big smile. At a slower pace, both Ace and Sabo joined their brother and simply stood there, enjoying the peace and tranquility of the moment.

This lasted for a few more minutes until Luffy abruptly stepped back and, with a huge grin, looked at his brothers with anxiety written on his face.

"We can start, right?" He asked.

Ace raised an eyebrow. "You're really excited today."

"Of course I am!" Luffy replied throwing his arms up. "On the last few weekends you haven't trained with me because of your work! Besides, you banned me from sparring with people at school, so it's been a long time since I last fought someone! I'm tired of having to train up here alone!

Sabo just laughed at Luffy's indignation. "Alright then. You two can start today." With that, he moved away from them and sat down quietly.

"YOSH!" Luffy exclaimed putting some distance between him and Ace before taking off his coat and throwing it on the floor.

Ace just shook his head at the enthusiasm of his brother. It really had been a long time since they had last sparred and with himself and Sabo being the only ones against whom he fought, it wasn't surprising that he was restless; Luffy really enjoyed training with them.

Repeating Luffy's action, Ace discreetly made sure the knives wouldn't end up hurting his brother before settling in a defensive position.

"Try not to forget everything we taught you," Sabo advised Luffy.

"Right, right, I know that." Luffy rolled his eyes before also getting ready, his fists already closed.

A few seconds passed in silence while Ace and Luffy stared at each other until the cry of "Go!" from Sabo sent Luffy flying forward.

In the blink of an eye, he was already right in front of Ace, an arm pulled back with a closed fist. Luffy's amazing speed would be enough to leave most surprised long enough for him to hit them. However, Ace just rolled his eyes mentally. _Of course he'd choose to start like that._

Contracting his muscles, he prepared to dodge the punch only to change his action at the last second and barely escape from one leg that came trailing along the floor, which had the objective to trip him, and two punches directed at his chest.

With a smirk appearing on his face, Ace used his knee to hit Luffy's belly, leaving the younger teen breathless for a moment and barely being able to block the punch that followed.

Luffy continued with a handful of punches, all of which were either dodged or blocked easily. He jumped back to avoid being hit by another attack before shooting forward and trying to strike again.

This lasted for a while until Luffy was knocked to the ground, Ace's foot on his belly preventing him from rising back again.

"And... I won." Ace remarked with a smirk. He had forgotten how much he liked these weekend training sessions.

"Shishishi!" Luffy just laughed as an answer to that, his smile not having left his face for one second. "Yeah! But next time I'll definitely beat you!"

"You still have to improve a lot more before being able to defeat me," Ace sneered slightly as he helped his younger brother get up.

"That's true." Sabo reaffirmed as he approached them. "But you're much better now, Luffy! The time you've spent training alone is taking effect, though you still need more agility in your movements."

Luffy beamed before nodding vigorously. Always after the spar, they gave Luffy pointers on how to improve. It had been four years since they had begun to train like this and since then Luffy had progressed a lot. At that point, both Sabo and Ace were sure the younger one could take care of himself in case he got himself in some kind of trouble. It was bound to happened eventually, though, seeing how Luffy could be a trouble magnet sometimes. He was still no match for his older brothers, but that was to be expected since both had had much more rigorous training.

Ace observed with a rare serene smile as Sabo continued telling Luffy what he should and shouldn't do next time. These sessions were one of the dew times where he could truly relax.

A small noise coming from his cell phone quickly gained his attention; he had received a message.

The smile was instantly wiped from his face at the noise. He removed the white phone from his pocket and quickly read the message that destroyed his good mood.

_Great. Right on our first day off__ in weeks, they get another job for me,_ he thought irritated while he grabbed his coat from the floor and put it back on.

This immediately drew the attention of the other two on the terrace with him.

"Ace?" Sabo questioned and Ace soon found himself being observed attentively; Sabo was obviously trying to figure out what he was doing. He saw the other's blue eyes find the white cell phone still held tightly in his hand before his expression darkened slightly, having figured out what had happened.

"Where are you going, Ace?" Luffy asked tilting his head to the side, a confused expression on his innocent face.

_And that's how it must remain. He doesn't have to get involved with anything._ Ace thought grimly. It was amazing how a simple message could change his mood so abruptly.

He smiled weakly, knowing both of his brothers would see through it instantly, and started towards the stairs. "Nowhere important. I just have to deal with something, but I'll be back by dinner." _I hope._

"Okay then," Luffy replied despondent because he wouldn't be able to spend more time with both of his brothers.

"See you later," Sabo said with the same smile Ace had and a wave. Their eyes met briefly, and Ace nodded before disappearing behind the door leading to the stairs. They both knew that since Sabo hadn't also been called that it couldn't be something as 'normal' as other requests were, meaning Ace had to be as wary as possible.

Sighing mentally and with his mask of boredom already in place, Ace began the descent. He only hoped that wasn't going to take much of his time.

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><p>The ticking noise of the clock echoed throughout the otherwise silent room, marking the slow passage of time.<p>

Tapping his fingers impatiently on his knee, he looked back with narrowed eyes at the door through which he had entered. How much longer did _he_ expect Ace to keep waiting? The message was very clear on the fact that he was expected there in half an hour to get the details of the request, causing him to rush to arrive on time. There, instead of meeting his _boss_, getting the request and going to do his job, he was left to a waiting room with no idea how long he'd be expected to wait.

_Smug bastard. How much longer does he want to keep me here with nothing to do?_

However, although impatient and frustrated, Ace was still alert. He knew there had to be some reason for him to be called in on a day he had off. It wasn't like _him_ to do unnecessary things, which meant that this was supposed to bother bother Ace somehow or teach him a lesson. _Damned sadist_._.._ Ace sighed mentally.

Looking around the room he was in, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary. There was a sofa and a couple of chairs arranged haphazardly around the small coffee table which was covered in papers. The damn clock was the only thing breaking the monotony of the walls apart from the large window in the corner. Ace grimaced. He didn't have the patience to deal with his _boss'_ little mind games today. Why couldn't he just take the damn request, go kill someone and return home?

The ticking of the clock resounded in the small space, mocking his impatience.

Ace rubbed his temple; at least he was going to earn extra cash. Inspecting the waiting room again, he finally saw something that caught his attention.

Almost covered by the other papers scattered on the coffee table, there was one in particular with small red edges. Narrowing his eyes, Ace tried to see what was in that paper without having to change from his comfortable position on the couch - because now that he had found what he was most likely supposed to see, Ace wasn't going to give _him_ the satisfaction of later seeing the teen through the security cameras doing exactly what _he_ wanted.

A few seconds later, Ace's eyes widened before he had to rebuild his mask and redirect his gaze to the other end of the room. _Shit. This can't be a good sign._

Because all papers with red edges in this place contained some invaluable information, and that one he had just seen had the record of a person written on it. Ace had managed to take a good look at the picture of the man, though he didn't know whether he was an enemy, an ally or a target of his _boss_.

Ace glanced at the paper again; he only needed a name. From where he was and with it being almost hidden from sight, he knew he wasn't going to read any of the details of the man's record. Even so, he at least needed the name since everything screamed that whoever this man was, he would quickly become a problem in Ace's life. The fact that in the upper corner of said paper was written in red 'LOCATION: IN TOWN AT THE MOMENT' only reinforced that idea.

Deciding not to care if it was exactly what his _boss_ wanted him to do, Ace leaned slightly forward, just enough to catch the first name of the man.

"Mar...co." He muttered to himself, his eyes passing again over the picture of the blond-haired man with a weird hairstyle and half-lidded eyes. Nodding to himself, he decided to keep even more alert when he was outside. He need to treat this Marco as someone dangerous, since he knew nothing about him and the picture was left out so obviously for him to see. The last thing he wanted was to be caught unprepared if they met.

He returned his gaze to the window just as the door of the room opened and in walked a man he recognized clearly, not being, however, who he expected to see.

"Basil Hawkins..." Ace said raising an eyebrow.

"Portgas D. Ace." The man replied as he approached Ace. Stopping in front of the couch, Hawkins handed a folded paper to Ace.

Looking at it briefly, Ace recognized it as the request he had come for.

"Why did it take so long? And why are _you_ here?" Ace questioned while getting up and easily returning the cold, calculating gaze of the other.

"The boss had an appointment, so I came in his place." Was all Hawkins replied before turning around and heading towards the door. "It's not a difficult one, so it's expected that you return the completed request by midnight at the latest."

And with that the door was closed, leaving Ace alone in the waiting room once more.

_And so __you send one of your precious Supernovas come in your place_. Ace thought annoyed. Basil's avoidance of his first question was enough to prove there was a reason for his long wait. Now all that remained was to know whether he was only supposed to have seen that almost completely hidden red-edged paper or if there was more to it.

_Very well._ He began to move toward the exit. He finally read the request properly, paying attention to the necessary details this time, since Sabo wasn't there. _Let's see what your goal is this time._


	3. Words that change everything

_**A/N:**_ Yo! So, yea... I know it took me a seriously long time to update and I'm really sorry for that! I'll try not to make you all wait another two months before the next update, but I can't guarantee anything :S April is gonna be a month pretty busy for me, so I won't have much time to write. I'll do my best, though ^.^ If you're lucky you'll have another one by the end of the month, though it's much more probable it's gonna be only in May :P

Anyway, enough of that! This was a fun chapter to write and it's where things start to happen ^.^ Now, go read it and please tell me after what you thought about it!

This chapter has been betaread by _AllHeroesWearHats and lunarshores! _^.^

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><p>Indifferent gray eyes watched the trembling man in front of him.<p>

"No! Please, don't! I-I said I was going to pay and I will! I just-! I just need more time!"

Ace only raised an eyebrow, the man's pleas not having the slightest effect on him. The request that he was completing now was all that mattered.

"You know what I am and why I'm here, so it's obvious that a simple apology and a worthless promise won't help save you," he commented as he slowly approached the filthy old man. He noted the dread clear in the man's bloodshot eyes as he retreated instinctively.

When his back hit the wall, his trembling worsened. He ran a shaky hand through his tousled brown hair and turned his desperate eyes to the teenager in front of him.

"C-come on, please! H-he, he knows I always pay him! T-there's no reason for y-you to ki-kill me! R-right? So you have to b-be here f-for another reason!"

Ace sighed mentally. Apparently, this one didn't want to accept that someone wanted him dead. Taking a few more steps so he was standing next to the small wooden table full of empty bottles of drinks and a whisky one full, he ran his eyes over the man and the area surrounding them quickly.

Satisfied with the information he had acquired and with a plan already in mind, he crossed his arms and leaned his hip lightly on the table, a posture that radiated boredom and experience.

"No," he replied curtly. There was no reason to try to soften anything. The request had been, after all, very specific.

_[...make sure to leave the target frightened by the idea that he will die.]_

"I really am here to kill you. Slowly, too." Ace completed with a smirk. Frankly, talking with his target wasn't something he was interested in doing. It was always the same: they always showed fear, nearly all begged, many were surprised, some tried to flee and just a few tried to fight him. It never varied, making it entirely too repetitive and uninteresting for Ace. Couldn't he have a single target that was different or who presented at least a little challenge? He gained no pleasure whatsoever by killing people, but that didn't mean he couldn't at least get something nice – like a good fight – from a request, right?

However, right now, all he wanted was to finish this job as soon as possible and return to his brothers. The fact that he had found out why he had been specifically sent to fulfil this request only served to leave him grumpier. _I hope Sabo got my message_, he thought.

"N-no...!" The man gasped, his eyes widening incredulously.

Ace resisted the urge to roll his eyes. There was the surprise. Now would come the escape attempt, considering he wouldn't find another option and didn't seem like the type who'd try to fight.

No more than two seconds later, he had his answer in the form of the man trying to sprint to the left of the teenager, in a desperate attempt to find the unlocked front door and make his escape.

_As if it'd be that easy._

Effortlessly, Ace caught him by the waist and pushed him back to the wall.

"Oh, come on. You didn't really expect to be able to escape from me so easily, did you?" He mocked the other as his gloved hand slowly began to push the bottle of whiskey that was on the wooden table to the edge.

"I-I... I..." The man stuttered while his eyes turned from one side to the other frantically.

The noise of glass breaking was what made him stop with a wince before turning his gaze to the floor. He stared at the bottle, now in several pieces with the amber liquid rapidly spreading across the tiled floor.

"Oops!" Ace smirked when he saw the growing fear in the man's eyes It was obvious that he knew something was going to happen, just not what exactly. Crouching, Ace shook his head in a fake gesture of sorrow. "Ahh, what a waste! Although it's not exactly top notch..."

Picking up one of the shards of glass, he turned it in his hands while humming a song. The tension in the room was palpable, which told Ace that his target was scared enough, just as his client wanted. _Great. Now for the next stage._

_[The death must be slow in order to torture the target.]_

In the blink of an eye, Ace got up from his position and moved forward, observing then the realization that he had been struck appear on the man's face when the pain appeared.

Dodging the puddle of whiskey, Ace nimbly stepped away from the target. As it was expected, the man raised a hand to the shard of glass embedded in his stomach, which already oozed blood, before locking his gaze on Ace as he fell to the ground with a groan. There he started coughing while trying to turn around to take out the piece of glass, only managing to release a muffled cry of pain when the other shards of glass that were beneath him cut him in different places.

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Huh, so you're the quiet type. Well, that just makes my job easier."

Going to the wooden table, he took the matchbox and a cigarette from the pack that was also there. Indeed, the man couldn't have set the stage for his death in this minuscule apartment better if he'd tried. It sure made Ace's job easier.

Ignoring the groans and mangled pleas from the man, who was quickly losing his strength, he threw the cigarette on the floor on top of the puddle.

"This'll probably not make much difference, but well. Whatever." Ace murmured to himself before taking a step back. Opening the box of matches and lighting up one of them, Ace coldly observed the man's feeble struggles to drag himself a bit away from the spilled liquor before the pain became too much and he gave up. Ace made sure that he was still awake, since the puddle formed with his blood was getting big, before throwing the match neatly in the middle of the handy accelerant.

The effect was immediate, but Ace didn't wait a second longer to see the consequences of his work. The apartment would soon be engulfed by flames, and by the time the firefighters arrived, it'd be already too late for the man, who would have died from blood loss if the flames hadn't killed him first.

Silently, Ace slipped out of the apartment and carefully made sure that none of the neighbors had noticed anything and were watching curiously. He then locked the front door with the place's spare key he'd stolen from its hiding place under the welcome mat and went down the stairs of the small, old three-story building.

_[Do everything possible to make it look like an accident.]_

_Third stage of the plan completed._

Not long after, Ace joined the crowd that quickly formed outside of the building. Acting like a teenager who was just passing by and was curious hadn't been difficult, much less talking to the residents of that area and even from the building and finding that, indeed, his target was known to drink and smoke a lot.

"He must have been doing something stupid and set the apartment on fire while he was sleeping," an old lady who was next to Ace suggested as everyone watched the firemen work from afar. "The question is if he'll come out of there alive..." She finished shaking her head.

Ace waited a while in order to see a body covered by a cloth being removed from the building. Once he saw that, he turned around and began walking away from the crowd, easily going unnoticed by those around.

_Now I just need to go back and make a report_, he thought offhandedly as he walked back to headquarters to report, his breath visible in the frigid air. He had never been a big fan of winter - it only made him feel colder and emptier inside, and most of his past winters had bad memories glued to them - and being in this part of the city at this time of the year made the situation even worse.

_Of course _he_ had to make me to do this job. _He _wouldn't miss a chance to get me back here on the outskirts of the city_, Ace thought with a scowl. Really, this request had only made his mood worse.

Ignoring the streets, buildings and houses around him, Ace let his feet automatically take the path back to the central part of the town. _I know what _he_ wants me to keep remembering by making me come here. But I won't be stupid this time. When I think of something, _he _won't discover what it is until it's too late._

* * *

><p>Sabo bemusedly observed his brother change his position on the couch again, the opening of a show on the television not holding the attention of either of the two occupants of the apartment. Closing the book he'd been reading until a few minutes ago, Sabo watched his brother shift in his seat once again before starting to continuously flip through the channels. It was clear that Luffy was bored and restless.<p>

Sabo, however, couldn't blame him for that since normally they would still be on the terrace training. However, without Ace's presence, both soon got tired of having very similar spars and decided to return to the apartment.

"Hey, Luffy." Sabo began with a grin forming on his face. Immediately, his brother turned to him curiously. "I need to go buy some ingredients to be able to cook dinner tonight." _Not really. But at least it's better than staying here and doing nothing._ "What do you say you come along to keep me company? We could even buy something to eat from a snack bar and bring it back as our lunch."

Sabo couldn't help but laugh at seeing the immediate excitement Luffy showed at his proposal. Luffy stood up and yelled he was just going to get a coat before disappearing down the hall.

Getting up to turn off the television and make a list of what they would need to buy, Sabo sighed. He took out his white cell phone from his pocket and, after double checking that there were no messages there, he reluctantly put it back. While Ace was out doing that job he wouldn't be able to relax. He had a bad feeling about this sudden job, which, considering their line of work, could mean many things.

At the sound of the quick footsteps of his brother approaching, he put a peaceful expression on his face. "Can you help me make the list?"

"Sure!" Luffy answered, still struggling to put on his coat in his rush. He settled the straw hat that was hanging from his neck firmly on top of his head before running to the kitchen.

Not long after, the two were walking on the streets on the way to a market. The walk there was occupied with Luffy talking endlessly about something that had happened at his school that week and Sabo adding a comment here and there from time to time, a small but happy smile on his face to see the excitement back in his brother.

Absently fiddling with the folded paper that was tucked into his pocket, he tried to relax. There was no real reason for him to be so tense, after all. This was just his paranoia created by the way they had grown up.

His train of thought was interrupted when he almost bumped into a person standing in the middle of the sidewalk. Frowning, Sabo was ready to divert from him and keep on walking when he recognized who said person was.

"Zoro?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, curious at seeing the green-haired teenager looking around with a slightly annoyed expression.

Luffy, who hadn't realized that Sabo had stopped and had, therefore, continued walking, turned back when he heard his brother say the name of his friend. "Zoro!" He smiled broadly before running back to where they were.

Zoro turned to the brothers with confusion written on his face. "Luffy? Sabo? What are you doing here?"

"We're going to buy ingredients and food!" Luffy said exited making Sabo roll his eyes. Only his brother could sound that excited when talking of just going to the market to buy food.

"Wait, I'm near your apartment?!" Zoro yelled looking at the surroundings again.

"You're lost again, aren't you?" Luffy laughed.

"I'm not lost!"

"Then why are you here?" Sabo asked, trying to keep a straight face. As far as he could remember, Zoro lived pretty far from here, so it wasn't exactly common to see him in that part of the town when he wasn't here to see Luffy.

"There's no reason, actually." Zoro shrugged before sighing. "I just wanted to leave the house for a while. It's not my fault the streets seem to change places, and I ended up here."

Sabo raised his eyebrows in surprise before a look of understanding appeared on his face. _That's right, we're already at that time of the year... it makes sense for him to be walking around aimlessly._

"Hey, Zoro." Luffy grinned pulling his friend's sleeve to get his attention. "How about you come with us? We're gonna eat soon!"

Wanting to keep the happy look on Luffy's face, Sabo nodded. "The more the merrier."

Zoro looked at them for a second before shrugging with a smirk. "Heh, why not? I'm not doing anything anyway."

Luffy cheered and started to babble at him. Sabo only shook his head at his brother's excitement before they went back to walking. He was ready to remind Luffy not to speak so quickly when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He tensed for a moment until he realized it was his black one that had buzzed.

The blond quickly picked it up and read the message, surprised to see that Ace had sent it as he ordinarily didn't text while on a job.

[Possible trouble in paradise with a new character appearing. This book is really full of surprises. I'll tell you in what part of the chapter I'm at when I get home.

Ace.]

Sabo frowned. That wasn't good.

When he and Ace wanted to exchange sensitive information, they used a code they had created a long time ago. So, if he took this message and translated it he got this information: a new person from the underworld had appeared in the town, Ace would tell him later what he knew, and they should stay alert.

_This is just fantastic._ Sabo thought sarcastically. Turning his head to see Luffy and Zoro, he sighed. He had forgotten for a moment what he had been doing. _Alright_, _it's not like we'll get in some kind of problem by just being on the streets today. I just need to stay vigilant._

Deciding it best for them to hurry and return home, Sabo gave the shopping list to Zoro and some money to Luffy. If they both went to buy their lunch, Luffy was bound to eat everything on their way, so it was safer for him to buy the ingredients with Zoro while Sabo went to the nearest snack bar.

And that's how Sabo found himself sitting on a chair in the place waiting for the poor employees to get all the sandwiches he had requested. As the plan was that his brother and Zoro would meet him there after shopping, he'd probably have to keep waiting for a little longer after he was given the sandwiches.

Sure enough, twenty minutes later Sabo spotted the two getting closer with several plastic bags in their hands. Taking the bag with the sandwiches, the blond quickly went to both with a smile.

"Were you able to find everything?" He asked as they turned to walk back to the apartment.

"Yep!" Luffy answered while eyeing Sabo's bag, impatiently eyeing the sandwiches.

"We only had trouble with the eggs," Zoro added.

"Does this have anything to do with why you have what appear to be the rest of a broken egg on your shirt, Luffy?" Sabo pointed to one of his brother's sleeves.

"Huh?" Luffy looked confused before glancing down at his sleeve and grimacing when he saw the egg. "Must have been from when I fell on those eggs..."

Sabo looked at Zoro, who sighed in exasperation. "He bumped into someone and ended up dropping the box with the eggs on the floor along with some other things. Luckily only a few got broken, so there should still be enough."

"Oh, that's right!" Luffy exclaimed suddenly. "You should have seen it, Sabo! The guy that I ran into was so cool! He had a head that looked like a pineapple, and he helped me get everything back on the shelves! Ah, but for some reason he didn't seem to like having been called pineapple head, which is odd as his head is one!"

Sabo just laughed as his brother started talking nonstop again. "Only you, Luffy."

"Shishishi!" Was the only response he got.

The rest of the way back passed uneventfully and they soon found themselves back at the apartment. Putting the bags on the table and taking off his coat, Sabo finally felt himself relax a bit. Now he only had to worry about preparing dinner until Ace arrived and he'd get some much needed answers.

"Hey, Luffy. Have you asked one of your brothers about it?"

"Ohh, that's right! I completely forgot! Saboo!"

Sighing in exasperation, the blond left the kitchen and went to the dining room, where both Luffy and Zoro were eating the sandwiches he had bought.

"Yeah?"

"Eh…" His brother stopped with a blank look on his face. "What was the word again, Zoro?"

Said green-haired teen just rolled his eyes. "S-Prototype, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes, yes!" His brother hit a closed hand on the other one. "What does being called an S-Prototype mean?"

Sabo froze, his eyes widening. So much for his attempt to relax.

"W-what?" He stuttered before realizing his mistake and trying to compose himself. "Where did you hear that?"

"At school." Zoro answered. "We heard some people calling us that, but everyone we asked said they didn't know what it meant. You're older, so do you know something?"

"Most really don't know the meaning." Sabo absently commented, a mask of amusement hiding his reaction. Inside, however, he was panicking.

_They have nothing to do with it. Nothing! So why are they pulling them in? WHY?!_

"So, what does it mean?" Zoro continued By the way Sabo had spoken it had been made clear that he knew the meaning.

Sabo opened his mouth only to close it right after. He couldn't tell them the truth, as that would be almost the same as getting them to accept such classification. "Look, this isn't something that you have to worry about. Try to forget that name, okay?"

Sabo sent both teens an encouraging smile, hoping they'd accept his brush off. Instead of acceptance, however, he received stony silence.

The blond found himself facing Luffy's serious look. He knew his brother had noticed his slip and understood that there was something wrong with him even after he had put his calm mask back again. Sabo suppressed the urge to sigh. It was during those times in which his brother was so serious that he remembered how observant the teenager could be.

They remained like that for a few more seconds before a grin appeared on Luffy's face. "All right then!"

At hearing the straw-hatted teen agreeing, Zoro nodded. "If you say so."

"I'll go back to putting the ingredients in their place then." Sabo smiled before turning around and going to the kitchen.

When he found himself alone again he waited a few more seconds, listening to the two teenagers in the other room go back to talking, before letting out a shaky breath.

He leaned against the counter and passed a hand over his face as he tried to keep his emotions under control. He needed to talk to Ace urgently.

_Damn! Why this now? Weren't there enough already?! Isn't it enough that we-!_

He cut his own trail of thoughts before he let his anger grow. He always managed to keep his emotions under control, so he wasn't going to lose control now.

He took a deep breath and continued putting away the remaining groceries. _They won't reach you two. I won't let that happen, I promise._

* * *

><p>A drumming of fingers on a table. "You're late."<p>

"Oh, it was the traffic. You know how it is." The response was accompanied by a shrug. "So?"

"I got a lot of information for you, as agreed. Now-"

"Did you really? Because I heard that you created a big commotion when... taking your leave."

"A small consequence of something that I had to deal with at the time." A sinister smile. "But my part of the deal is complete, nobody knows you're involved."

"Very well." He smirked. "What do you want again?"

"Four of your employees to help me with something."

"Don't you have enough people to do that?" One eyebrow was arched in question.

"The reason is none of your business." A frown. "They work for me for one night, and I give you the rest of the information."

"...I see." A mocking smirk. "You're afraid of them coming. But okay then. Just tell me when and where, and they'll be there."

The other's eyes narrowed, but he wrote the information requested on a piece of paper with a triumphant smile. After all, he _was_ getting what he wanted.

"Here it is."

"Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you." A contented smirk.

"The pleasure's all mine, zehahahaha!"


End file.
